Spells of Chaos
by Twinewriters
Summary: What happens if after a year of being with her orginal self,Namine becomes a different person and finds out that she has more strange abilities that have had yet to be unlocked?Who will be there to train her and watch her back when the dark witch Maleficent places a hexed charm on her?And why..of all people..does Chaos want to be a young Nobody's personal shadow? Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hey there guys! Kivanfangirl here! For those who don't know, this is a fan fiction account that both my twin and I are using to write epic stories for you guys. I hope you all like this unquie fan fiction and I would love it if you guys gave me some feedback. Anywhos..enjoy the story!**_

* * *

As a dark corridor closes, a young blond female appears in a small town. She smiles faintly while looking around. Radiant Garden. This was, without a doubt, the place she needed to be. Namine lets out a deep breath as she walks towards one of the staircases nearby. From her current vantage point, she could see the dark castle from where she was created in. She closes her eyes as she reminds herself of her personal mission. While she was a ful form with Kairi, the two had many talks about what she really was and all that she missed within the two years that she missed within the two years that her, Sora and Riku were separated, They also took the time to look over the secret reports that Sora collected from Ansem the Wise, otherwise known as Diz, had created.

They learned that much like Twilight Town, Radiant Garden was a world that was between light and darkness. A world within the twilight. Because of this reason, it explained the countless encounters of lesser Nobodies and Heartless being found using the world as a continuous battle ground. And why Maleficent had a desire to take over that world, making the place known as Hallow Bastion. It was only recently that the town was restored. Namine smiles to herself when she saw how excited her friends were to see the place back together; especially Kairi. It was, after all, her home world. But that was about a year ago from now. While with Kairi, Namine started to notice that several dark corridors were being sighted around the Destiny Islands.

Mind you, they only appeared at night while Kairi slept; leaving her Nobody to keep an eye on things. But when she first saw the dark door near Kairi's home, Namine panicked. Thankfully nothing appeared from it but that didn't ease her all that much. To keep Sora and Roxas from worrying about them, she asks Kairi if she could have assistance using a weapon in case she needed to protect herself. Beaming with glee, Kairi quickly drags Namine to the sandy beach where the two of them could practice. After about two hours of fighting, they both agreed to call it a day. As the day went by, Namine repeated the images of their training in her mind until later that evening. It didn't take long for the dark corridor to appear.

With her arm raised high, Namine prepared for any coming Heartless. Thankfully, only a few Shadows seeped through. But when they were gone, she noticed that the dark portal was still there, Namine became uneasy. Frowning, she moves closer to it and uses her darkness abilities to close it. Within seconds, the portal was gone. But even with the darkness away from Kairi, she could feel her hands shake from the use of darkness within her. As she turned around to check on Kairi, she saw her Other with a concerned look in her eyes. It was then decided that Namine would leave for a while to contain her dark powers. Her journey landed her here in Radiant Garden, a place where she hoped to control the random appearances of the dark corridors around her.

When she opened her eyes, Namine notices a strange figure at the end of the stairs. A male with black and red clothing, a red tethered cloak and golden plates on one hand and his feet. He appeared to be speaking with a dark haired female whom Namine recalled as Tifa. She looks between the castle in the distance and the two below. Even though the place gave her the creeps, she knew she had to get there. There was just something about that place that told her that she would find the answers that she wanted. But the only problem was that she couldn't remember how to get there. Being patient, she slowly descended the staircase and waited until the two were done talking so she could ask for directions.

* * *

Vincent felt a ting of irritation and confusion fills him as he looked around his new surroundings. One moment he was in Kalm, the next he was here. Question was..where exactly was 'here'? He walks about the place as he tries to figure out where he was. Vincent pauses by a flight of stairs as he sees Tifa coming down. She offers him a smile and waves towards him.

"Hey Vincent! I see you managed to find a way to get here. I was wondering if I'd find anyone else here. Yuffie is with Cid working on some program for the town's defense magnesium. Though I can't say I know where Cloud is.." she says slowly.

A faint smile reaches his lips. "I'm sure you will see him soon, Tifa." He looks around his surroundings once more before glancing at Tifa again. "So..where exactly are we?"

Tifa crosses her arms as she gives him a small smile. She held back her teasing comments as she realized that he was feeling disoriented there. "Radiant Garden. Believe it or not, we are in a different world."

"Another world?" That would explain why everything seemed so strange here. "Is there a way to get back?"

Tifa nods with a bright smile. "Yeah. If I remember correctly, Cid has a ship we can use."

He gives her a slight nod. "Right.."

Tifa turns towards the stairs and waves a hand to Namine. The two were starting to become good friends when her and the others came by to help fix up the town with the help of Roxas, Sora, Riku, and Kairi. "Oh hey Namine. What's up?"

The blond witch places her hands before her white dress as she shakes her head. "Nothing much. But I was wondering…you wouldn't happen to know the way to the castle here, would you?"

Tifa tilts her head in thought. When she was first looking for Cloud here, she did stumble on the pathway to the castle but didn't bother looking there. "If I remember correctly, you have to go through the Bailey. Wait...you aren't going there alone are you? Where are the others?" she asks as she looks behind Namine to look for one of her other friends, but not seeing a single one of them in sight.

Namine offers her a slight smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Thanks Tifa." Not wanting to delay, Namine walks around Tifa and heads towards the Bailey.

Tifa shakes her head with a sigh. "I hope she knows what she's doing. I've got a bad feeling about that place.."

Vincent, who kept his peace during their conversation, could tell that Namine was not a normal person. In fact, Chaos, the entity that was inside him and whom normally wanted to rage with need for mass destruction, actually purred within his mind. That reaction alone made him feel alarmed and curious as to what exactly Namine was…and why his demon was so..calm. Vincent turned towards Tifa as he places his right hand on his gun holster.

"You want me to go after her?"

Tifa turns to Vincent with a slight nod. "If you don't mind?"

He shakes his head. "No..I don't mind. Which way is to the Bailey?"

"Just past the other set of stairs beyond this block."

Vincent nods and starts to head towards the direction Namine went. As we walked past the street block, he started to share Tifa's concern to a small degree. Something told him that going inside that dark castle couldn't bode well for either him or Namine.

* * *

Namine took all of ten minutes to get to the old castle court yard. The closer she got to the double doors to the grand hall, the more she felt chills run up and down her spine. She could just tell that there was someone there watching her. Namine closes her eyes as she attempts to locate the source of the entity nearby after she enters the castle. Her eyes shoot open with a startled gasp. Before her in a lengthy black and purple cloak-like gown was the dark witch, Maleficent. She gives Namine a dark smirk.

"I sense a darkness within you that is similar to those 'Nobodies' whom were once in 'The World That Never Was'…yet you have a small light within. You are certainly a strange one. I think though..I can use you to my advantage." She purred with a cruel grin.

Namine quickly shook her head and summoned her Keyblade into her right hand. "You are crazy if you think I'll ever work with you!" she hissed.

To her surprise, the elder witch laughed at her statement before she walks closer to Namine. "You have an attitude, which can be to your advantage in some cases. But at the moment, it shall hinder you and only grant you a swift death. But I am feeling…generous today."

With a quick wave of her hand, a small black dragon charm appears around her neck. As Namine looks down to the charm, she sees the eyes glow a deep green as it leaves a faint wave of darkness over her.

"This charm will protect you only from the weakest and the strongest of my Heartless. You have seven years to improve your skills in the arts. By that time I expect you here. If you do not come of your own free will, the charm will break and my minions will drag you by force to my castle. Is that clear?"

Namine attempts to remove the charm but finds it to be in some sort of phase for she could not pull it off. She glares at the elder witch. "Why would I have to come back here?"

Maleficent chuckles lightly." You are a young witch; that much I can see. But I have matters of my own to tend to and have little time to train a little witchling. However, I am curious as to how your powers will evolve. I am a patient woman and shall be waiting for you here when the time comes…and I will see if you are truly worth the effort in sparring. If not, then I believe I can alter your form to make you a Heartless…exposing your darkest shadows to the surface." She waves a hand away to Namine. "Go on now…while I still allow it."

Namine shakes her head from the fearful images and dashes out of the castle. The moment she leaves, Maleficent summons a group of NeoShadows beside her. "You boys know what to do.."

The NeoShadows bow with a hiss as they disappear in a puddle of darkness and follow after Namine.

* * *

As Vincent reaches the edge of the main platform by the castle, he freezes in his steps for a moment as a portal of darkness appears in front of him. He lowers his gun when he sees Namine running out of it. She gave him a curious look before looking behind her. Namine's Keyblade appears in her hands as a group of NeoShadows gather before them. In the back of his mind, Vincent could hear Chaos growl like a possessive hound. Vincent narrows his eyes at the strange creatures abd aims Cerberus towards his nearest target.

With cat-like reflexes, Namine shifts to the side abd attacjs the Heartless. The battle was effortless between Namine and Vincent but as Namine defeated the last Heartless, her Keyblade disappears and she falls to her knees. Before her head could reach the ground, Vincent catches her and leans her against his arm.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Her vision starts to blur before she could reply, feeling the charm around her neck get heavier. The darkness took over her within seconds.

Since he could still hear her breathing, Vincent assumed she was still alive. But he couldn't well leave her on the ground. With little effort, he carries her back to town and finds Yuffie walking about.

"Oh hey Vincent!" she waves her arms in the air to him and gasps when she sees Namine in his arms.

"Oh my gosh! Is she going to be okay?!"

"I think so. She just needs to lay down somewhere."

Yuffie gives him a wave of her arm. "Follow me! We can take her to Merlin's place. This way!"

Without another word, Vincent follows Yuffie to the small home where Merlin and the others were and sets her on the bed. The elder wizard stood beside the bed with a thoughtful look.

"That necklace she is wearing..looks very simalar to something I've seen before. But I can't seem to place my finger on it." he says thoughtfully.

"We will just have to wait until she wakes up then.." Vincent replies calmly, though he was getting a bad feeling about it. Just looking at the charm was making his head dizzy.


	2. Chapter 2

Wide blue eyes met with Namine's light crystal-blue ones in a haze.

"I think she's finally waking up." A cheerful light voice chimed.

Bi-colored eyes appeared beside the other. "Really?! Wow, that was pretty quick. That potion you had Rik' works wonders."

"Henhen..Told ya' it would work." she says proudly.

As the images started to clear before her, two fairey-like creatures fluttered above her. She recalled that the two were Rikku and Yuna. In the back a bit was the third Gullwing, Paine. With a groan, she attempts to push herself up. A sharp pain echoes through head, causing her to quickly hold onto her head with a her, Aerith places a hand on her back. "Careful there Namine. Try not to get up too quickly."

The young Nobody heeded her advise and tossed her feet over the other side of the bed. Looking up, she could see Merlin, Yuffie, Leon, Tifa, Cid and the male who helped her with the Heartless after running out of the castle. The wizard walks up to her with obvious curiosity. "My dear, can you tell me whom it was that gave you that charm you are wearing?"

She frowns as she looks away from him. The events that were now in motion could never be undone and as she looked at the black dragon around her neck, she realized that control over her dark powers would have more than her friends' lives on the line. In a soft voice she replies. "Maleficent was the one who gave it to me.."

Yuffie gasps as she slaps her hands over her mouth. Merlin strokes his beard in a thoughtful manor. "I had a feeling. That charm of yours radiates dark energy. Pretty powerful stuff, I might add. Unforanutely, none of my magic was able to remove it."

Namine gives him a light nod to confirm his actions."I tried to remove it myself but I couldn't. Nothing can.."

Yuffie places her hands on her hips as she glares at Namine. "What were you doing near that old dragon lady anyways?"

Namine frowns before answering. She could feel an invisable spotlight beaming over her and the attention was above all else the last thing she really wanted or needed. "I-I only wanted to see if there was a way I could control my darkness abilities in one of the castle archives but..I bumped into her and told me as a token for sparring me life..she wants me to improve my witchcraft. If I don't see her in seven years she was going to.." she hesitates, unwanting to burden them with the troubles she had to face ahead,"..to break down my Nobody form and make me one of her Heartless."

Tifa shakes her head. "I knew that the castle was bad news."

Leon gives a nod. "Sounds like we should keep our eyes open for any Shadows around town then. Cid,how much long will it take for your program to be finished?"

Cid turns about in his computer chair and pulls up the tab that was recording his new program's completion status. "Hmn, by the looks of things, about a half hour. I'd make it go faster to upload but ya' can't rush perfection."

"Hmph..Right. I'll go make a few rounds to make sure none of the Heartless followed Namine and Vincent here." He looks to Yuffie and Tifa. "Could you two check the boarders?"

Tifa gives him a short salute with a smirk. "Sure thing. Let's go Yuffie."

The young ninja takes out her large shurken with a beaming smile." Alright!~Watch out Heartless! Here comes the great ninja Yuffie!" she chimes as she follows Tifa outside.

Once the two girls leave, Aerith places a hand on Namine's shoulder. "Don't worry, you're safe with us."

The young witch gives her a weak smile."Thank you. I didn't mean to have this become other people's problem."

Aerith shakes her head. "Don't be silly. We're your friends. Looking after each other is only natural."

Namine smiles a little more. "You sound like Sora.." she says with a soft laugh.

Aerith places a hand on her mouth. "Oh! Well...I don't think I could ever be as erm..out-going as him. Let alone have his energy."

"I don't think anyone could..well, other than Rikku here."

The Albhed thief smirks as she waves a hand in the air. "No denail here!~ Wait a minute..what?"

Yuna and Aerith shake their heads. "Don't worry about it, Rik'."

Namine closes her eyes for a moment as she tries to collect herself. There was so much that she needed to do and though seven years may seem like a long time, when one travels between worlds, time differs between each one. Her eyes open and she sees the red cloaked figure still leaning against the other side of the room with his arms crossed over her chest along with his eyes closed as if he were thinking to himself or gathering his thoughts like she was. Taking her time to get up off the bed, she walks towards him and places her hands in front of herself.

"I never got a chance to introduce myself or to thank you from before but..thank you. As you could already guess, my name is Namine."

He opens his eyes as he looks down to her and nods. "Vincent Valentine..and don't mention it."

Namine tilts her head as she looks up to his eyes and smiles. "You...aren't completely human, are you?"

Vincent raises a brow at her comment. "What do you mean?"

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I guess I should explain. I am known as a witch, one who can alter memories linked to one's heart. I can also see the past in someone's eyes. But for some people I need direct contact with them to see into their mind if my original self or her soul-mate, Sora, hasn't met them. But I don't alter memories anymore..not unless it is something that is desired." Namine takes a small step back as she gets a better view of his crimson orbs looking down at her. For a brief moment she could have sworn that his eyes flashed an image of the pure black eyes that Chaos held. "Would..you mind if I held your hand for a moment?"

His eyes narrow for a moment. "Why?"

She thought for a moment before giving him a reply. "It would cut time out for me having to ask you questions later."

Vincent thought on her reply and concidered it would seem better on both of them if she just saw things herself. He didn't want to play a game of Q&A anyways. With a sigh he nods and offers her his hand. "Just a fair warning, my past isn't all that pretty."

Namine smiles before reaching for his. "That statement is all too true for just about everyone I meet. But I will keep your warning in mind."-As their hands touch, several waves of emotions rush into Namine's mind as well as images of his past while at his homeworld. Since her powers were not fully developed, she could only see fragments of his history, but only enough to understand it to know what was going on. Through each fragment she could see a similar pattern of emotions within him. While with or near a young scientist by the name of Doctor Lucrecia Crecent, he felt admiration and tinges of confusin. When another scientist came into the picture, Hojo, she could tell that he loathed and was jealous of him.

For a few moments, she couldn't seem to understand why..until she saw a glimpse of Dr. Crecent with the other scientist. Even though she wasn't there that day, she could tell that he wasn't all that happy with it. But she could hear him tell himself that he wasn't mad at her for going with someone else, just as long as she was happy. Namine waves the memory fragments over from his heart and begins to withdraw from his mind but freezes as she senses the other entity within him.

The clips of his memory fade as she finds herself in a dark room with a red wing creature who has a pitch black gaze and offers her a toothy grin. 'Leaving so soon, dark angel?' he asks within a dark purr.

Namine tilts her head at the creature as she tries to figure out who he was. 'I assume you are Chaos then, right?'

The creature chuckles as he crosses his arms over his shoulders. 'You are a smart little witch. Never leave a detail when you search through memories, do you?'

She shakes her head. 'No..but I have to be careful when I glance at memories. If I look too closely at memories, I can alter them.'

He waves a dismissive hand. 'What are a few missing memories going to do? I highly doubt that Vincent will miss how tragic and melodramatic his past was. I can hear his thoughts and to tell you the truth, he makes me gag with how he brutes over the past.' He taps a clawed hand over his fangs with a thoughtful look. 'Then again, his past does give him something to motivate his carcass every so often. When he fights, it is a beautiful thing. Ah..the destruction he reeks upon those that get in his way are given no mercy.' he purrs with a delighted sigh.'But I must admit, things have been rather dull these past few months.' Chaos gives her a closer look as if she were transparent. 'Then there is you. I must say I have never encountered a being as..complex as you. You are far more fascinating than those experiments from Deepground. But I digress. From what I heard you are what is considered as a Nobody, a being of darkness and a shell of that of which was left when your heart has been devoured by the darkness. But from what I can see, you have a small light within you but there is also darkness there. Sweet blessed darkness that has destruction written all over it.' he purrs with a toothy grin.

Namine gives him a faint smile. 'I can't deny what I am but I need to control that darkness that you sense. When I don't use my powers for a period of time, portals of darkness appear and I have to fight them off. I wish I could practice my magic in , when I do, Heartless attack me.'

He gives her a curious look. 'The dark ones pose a challenge when you attempt to perfect power? Now that is a true shame. They should know better than to attack my dark angel.' Chaos observes his right claw before looking back to Namine. 'As I mentioned before, Vincent has not been too active within the fighting scene as of late. I believe that making that portal earlier and sending him into a different world was the perfect shot in the dark, if I don't say so myself.' he says with a smug grin. Chaos goes down on one knee as he offers her a toothy smirk.

'If you require protection, I will put an end to those that wish you death. None shall harm the dark angel as long as my host can tame me. You have my word as a bringer of destruction and death.' he slurrs with a dark purr.

The memory witch smiles a little, feeling a bit uneasy with a vow from an entity that could turn a bad situation worst. But, unwanting to gain a negative vibe from him, she gives him a polite nod. 'Um..thank you. I..should really get going.'

Chaos returns to his feet and offers her a nod. 'Very well. I shall await you until our next encounter. Farewell, dark angel.'

As Namine is pulled back into reality, she shakes her head as she looks up to Vincent and notices a concerned look in his eyes. "Are you going to be alright?"

She nods her head as she looks away for a moment. The images and emotions from Vincent's past rush into her mind at once and she is reminded on how she felt back at the islands. As a prisoner in Castle Oblivion, she was forced to alter Sora's memories for Marluxia and Larxene. Though she changed his memories back and confessed what she did to the others, she could tell that they didn't completely trust her. Though it wasn't all her fault, she couldn't help but blame herself for that lack of trust around those who were her only friends back at the islands.

Not only that, but she could understand his feelings of being 'unwanted'. While she was rebuilding Sora's memories, she had to delve into those of his Nobody, Roxas and the female experiment that was created from Sora's memories, Xion. As she did so, she found out that she would only be seen as a mutual friend to Roxas and that he only sought conferment in Xion and his partner, Axel. Though she realized that Nobodies could not have true emotions, she had a faint remembrance of the emotion heartbreak. But she could agree with Vincent in his thinking that if the one you cared about was with someone else and was happy, that's all that mattered..even if it secretly hurt to think about the ordeal of it.

But she knew it wasn't fair to compare or judge his life based on her own. There was, however, a part of her that yearned to help him heal from the past.

Namine turns back to Vincent and wraps her arms around him. "I know you don't hear this offen but, you don't have to live in the past. Living in the shadow of what could have been and how things went wrong isn't good for you, or anyone for that matter. Trust me, I know. I am a shadow..or at least, a shadow of my original self, Princess Kairi."-Vincent's body grew instantly stiff from the physical contact but slowly lower his guard as he gave her a faint smile. By the look in her eyes he could tell that she really could see into his memory. He normally wasn't one for believing in magic but when they touched hands for a brief moment, he saw how her eyes turned blank for a few moments before she looked back to him with a start. He slowly places a hand on her shoulder and pulls her away a bit. "Thank you...Namine." he says softly as his lips twitch into a small smile.

She pulls back from him and smiles with a nod. "Say Vincent..could you hear the conversation Chaos and I had?"

His eyes go wide as he pulls away from the wall. "You had a conversation..with Chaos?!"

Namine rubs the back of her head as she nods. "Y-yeah. Is that a bad thing?"

Vincent looks away from her in fear the creature within him was hostile towards an innocent girl. "That depends. What did he say?"

Seeing that the idea of Chaos talking to her bothered him, she tried not to say anything that could possibly upset him. "Well..he just, likes me I guess. He kept calling me his 'dark angel' for some reason." she says with a confused tone."He said that if I need protection, then he would be more than willing to be there but...I'm not sure if I should trust him."

'Chaos, you are a strange creature. Will you cease to surprise me and make things more complicated for me?' Vincent thought as he shook his head. In the back of his mind, he could hear the creature chuckle in amusement."So..he wants to protect you then? I'm afraid he isn't going to be there very much if I'm not there." The amusement leaves the creature's tone as he hisses at his host.

Namine nods, understanding that he was indirectly telling her that he wasn't interested in watching her back. Not wanting to show that she was disappointed, she averts her gaze. "That's okay. You probably want to look around the world here anyways. Radiant Garden is a lot different than your homeworld and I'm sure you can find something here to pass your time. I just...need to find someone who can help me with my magic."

Merlin, who was looking at one of his books by his tea table, looks up to Namine with a frown. "Though I would love to help you with your magic, my dear, the energy you have is far too dark for me to work with. Perhaps a black mage would be better suited to assist in training you?"

Rikku flies up beside Merlin with a beaming smile. "Did someone say black mage?! Oh! Oh! I know one!~ Back home in Spira, Yunie and I traveled with the best black mage ever! She's our best friend, Lulu! She can help out tons! I know she can! Right Yunie?" she looks over to her cousin who gives her a bright smile.

"Oh yeah! Lulu would be perfect! I hope she doesn't mind the visit."

Rikku smirks as she places her hands on her hips. "Yunie, I think Lulu would be honored to have us come and visit. What are we waiting for?! The more we talk about it, the more I wanna see Lulu and her baby!~"

Paine rolls her eyes as she keeps her arms crossed. "Oh brother...here she goes again talking about the baby." she mutters with a groan.

The blond Albhed pouts. "What? I just can't say no to a cute little baby.."she cooes.

Namine smiles as she walks towards the Gullwings. Since she had no one else to help train her in black magic, she figure it was her only hope. "Okay..I'll go to your world and meet with Lulu. Lead the way."

Rikku jumps in the air clapping her hands. "Yeah! Spira here we come!" Using the magic in her sphere, she opens a portal to her home world and waves her hand towards Namine. "C'mon slow pokey! Let's go.~" she chimes as she rushes into the portal. Shortly after she enters, Yuna follows and then Paine. Namine takes a deep breath as she walks towards the portal.

"Good luck Namine. "

"Knock'em dead kid."

She turns towards the other side of the room and smiles at Aerith and Cid. "Thanks. I'll come back soon..hopefully." she says softly, muttering the last part to herself. Namine takes a deep breath and walks into the bright portal as she goes into the world of Spira, following after the Gullwings.


	3. Chapter 3

As Namine followed the Gullwings through Rikku's portal made from one of her spheres she had in her keeping, the young witch had to squint her eyes as she walks through the bright light of the portal. Once the bright light disapates, a bright sandy white beach greeted her. In front of her, she sees Rikku, Yuna and Paine go back to their normal size. Rikku jumps up in the air as she points towards the way to the village there in Besaide.

"C'mon Namine! The village is right up the hill here." she calls.

Yuna giggles, running up to catch up with her cousin. "Wait up Rikku!"

Paine shakes her head with a groan. "Slow down you two! The village isn't going anywhere." she calls with a groan as she attempts to catch up with the speeding Albhed female and her cousin.

Namine smiles as she runs up to follow them until they get to the top of the hill where she could see a series of tall tents in front of a temple. In between the two rows of tents, a female with a small bundle in her hands with a black dress covered in multiple belts and chains linking to one another. Rikku jumps in the air with a bright grin while dashing to the female.

"Lulu!~ It's been so long! How's the baby?"

The black mage gives a soft laugh while holding the baby in her arms. "He is fine Rikku. How have you girls been?"

Yuna places her hands behind her back as she sways in place. "Well, we've been traveling a bit and got a lot of treasure too. Oh! I almost forgot." Yuna turns around and waves a hand to have Namine move closer. "This is our friend Namine. Namine, this is Lulu."

The memory witch moves forward and bows her head slightly to the other woman. "A pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Lulu tilts her head with a pleasent smile. " Likewise to you dear."

Rikku wraps an arm around Namine's shoulders. "Say Lulu, do you think you could help Namine here with her magic? She needs a bit of help. Please Lulu? Pretty plwease?"

With a soft laugh, she nods. "I'm flattered you would think of me to help your friend here. Let me just put the baby to bed and I'll be with you girls. Meet me by the shrine outside the village and I'll be there in a moment."

Namine nods. "Thank you, Lulu."

With that, she follows Yuna to the shrine where she was to meet her. The Gullwings stand back to the side while Namine looks over the view of the beach ahead. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, wishing she was back on the Islands with her friends. But she knew that going back would mean that she would be giving up her need to control her powers and endangering those she cared about. A few moments later, the sounds of footsteps sound as Lulu comes out with her default moogle doll under her right arm. Namine turns around and stands in front of Lulu.

"Now..." she starts, "...what is it you need help with exactly, Namine?"

"Well, I have these powers that allow me to alter people's memories and use dark corridors to move about from place to place. But since I haven't used my powers to alter memories and not use my abilities for darkness for a litttle over a year. Dark portals appear at night and creatures appear..and I fear it is because of my lack of control to my powers. I need to learn how to center myself and control my abilities and if possible, learn how to protect myself as well."

Lulu places a thoughtful finger on her lips before nodding. "We will need to start with the basics, of course. This should be a pretty quick fix. However..the art of black magic isn't something that can be learned over night. You need to practice at it as often as you can so it becomes second nature. Now, the first thing I am going to need you to do is take a deep breath and relax. When starting something as complex as magic, you need to make sure you are comfortable so you can focus at the task at hand. Just close your eyes and take a deep, relaxing breath."

Namine does as she is instructed, releasing a breath she didn't realize she was holding until then that she was exhaled and relaxed her stiff shoulders. When she opens her eyes, Namine sees Lulu smiling proudly at her.

"Very good. Now, let us start with the first basic element. Normally, the first element one learns as a black mage is fire. But from what I have heard from what you are capable of, I think you can learn more than one element. The key to casting an element is being able to see it in your mind. Picture the element in which you wish to cast and then direct your energy towards your target. Allow me to show you an example."

Lulu turns towards a medium sized rock and waves her hand as a wave of high leveled fire explodes the rock into little pieces. She turns back to Namine, who has a nervous look about her.

"Now, you try."

Namine clears her throat as she holds her hand out. "I'll try..but I don't think I can out-do that.." she mutters. Closing her eyes, she pictures her hand holding a small ball of fire. When they open, she pushes her hand out in front of her as a ball of fire and dark energy comes out and hits a group of large rocks and turns them all into piles of sand. Namine stares in complete awe at what she did, and then back to Lulu, who had a knowing smile.

"I knew you could do it. Good job. Shall we continue the lesson?"

With an eager smiling nod, Namine turns back to the black mage as they went through the various elements she could use while in battle and small methods that she could use to control her energy when she wasn't in battle. As advice, Lulu informed her that keeping a calm state of mind was always key to having perfect spell casting. So, doing small sessions of meditation and a hobby that didn't take too much energy would do her well. When they were finished with their lesson, Lulu wishes her the best on her magic and to come to her when she perfected her magic.

"Oh..and one more thing." Lulu eyes Namine carefully. "I know you know how to protect yourself but will you have anyone fighting beside you?"

A faint frown comes over her lips as she shakes her head. "I'm afraid not. Why ask?"

Lulu shares her frown. "It is traditional that any mage, especially ones who are starting out, should have a protector. I'm surprised you don't have one."

Namine looks to the side with a distant glance in her eyes as the conversation, or more like fragments, of the conversation she had with Vincent flow through her mind. She knew that he had little to no desire in being her protector but he was the only one whom she could think of who could fill in the position. The young witch shakes her head, knowing that the mere idea of him being beside her like they were in Radiant Garden when she was followed, again, would be a pointless idea.

"No...I don't have one."

Lulu taps a finger on her lips. "Well, I can't very well allow you to leave without a way to defend yourself in case your magic won't work. I know that there are enemies out there that might be resistant to magical attacks."

Rikku jumps up off the rock she was sitting on and hops towards Lulu as she holds out one of the dress spheres she had. "Ya' think this could work for her, Lulu?"

The black mage examined the dress sphere, seeing that there was a gun symbol over it. "Hmn..this could work. Thank you Rikku." She hands the sphere to Namine. "When you can't cast your magic, use this. It should protect you when you need it most."

Namine takes the dress sphere and places it in one of the smaller zipper pockets on the side of her dress before she gives Lulu a light embrace. "Thank you...for everything, Lulu."

At first, Lulu is surprised by the affection but she slowly places a hand on her shoulder with a smile. "Think nothing of it. I'm sure you will make me very proud. Now, it's getting late girls and I should head back. But feel free to stop by at any time."

The Gullwings and Namine nod with a smile as they say their farewells. Rikku then opens the portal for Namine to return back to Radiant Garden, but stays behind with her cousin and her friend Paine, as they had a few things to take care of in their home world. When Namine returns to Radiant Garden, she finds herself outside of Merlin's home.

As she turns to get the door knob, she pauses. A mental realization hits her. What would she do if she saw Vincent again? That was a good question...and one she didn't have the answer to. She hits herself upside the head with a mutter under her breath.

"Why am I so concerned with how some stranger thinks about me? It's not like me to be like this. So why am I so worried? I must be losing my mind.."

She shakes her head at herself and turns away from the door. Namine walks away from the door as she makes her way towards the market place where she could draw. Right now, she just needed a few moments to collect her thoughts and get herself together. Drawing, though it was once used as a way for her to alter Sora's memories, would be perfect for her right now. Clearing her mind of obscure thoughts was something she truly needed to accomplish before she faced anyone.

oOo

Meanwhile...

After Namine leaves with the other three girls, Vincent lets out a sigh. Finally, a moment of peace. He was beyond thankful that Rikku and the others were gone. After being misplaced to a different world, several questions popped into his mind as he thought about how the two were different and if there were others. Thankfully, after he returned Namine to Merlin's home Leon and the others explained what the shadowed creatures he and Namine fought and confirmed the question of other world locations.

But while he listened attentively to this information, he started to realize that more than appearance would differ from his home world to this place. Normally, Chaos did not say anything to him and merely reacted at points of high levels of stress or if he endured massive damage for whatever reason. But here, he learned that Chaos was like another voice in his head that had a comment for almost everything he said and did. Just thinking about how things were different was starting to give him a headache.

Shaking his head, he leaves Merlin's home and goes to take a walk around until he gets to the ledge before going into the Bailey. With one leg hanging off the edge, he leans against the wall and closes his eyes. For a few moments he had peace and quiet until he heard a feral growl inside his head.

'/Why must you walk away from a challenge, Vincent? We both know that guarding the female would be safer if you were to watch over her. /' Chaos hissed.

Vincent rolls his eyes inwardly. 'I want no part in some petty task of being some kid's baby-sitter. I have better things to do with my time than to follow some child.'

Chaos growls louder inside his head. '/That 'child' has the capability to more power than either of us combined. She is no mere child..that I know for certain./'

Well this was amusing. Never before had he known Chaos for having a soft spot for anyone, especially not a stranger he had only known for a short period of time. 'Someone have a soft spot for the girl?'

Chaos counters his question with a question of his own. '/You don't find her fascinating?/ '

Vincent pauses for a moment as he is taken back by the question. Her abilities were strange. He wasn't exactly expecting her to know how to defend herself when she appeared out of a dark portal, let alone use dark portals that he had seen only few use in his home world. But even at that, he didn't think that an innocent girl would have darkness abilities. ' I suppose she is a bit strange, but so am I. I'm not exactly a normal human being.'

He could hear the pleased smirk in Chaos's voice when he replied, '/You see? Even while you are in denial, your curiosity will get the better of you. The dark angel would be the perfect thing you need to help you move on./'

'Move on?'

It was the creature's turn to have his eyes roll. '/ Oh don't act like you don't know. It makes me sick for how much you cling to your past. Sitting around and doing nothing will not help with the passing of events that happened to you. I've seen your past and though it may be a tragic story, you need to move on. That's why I brought us here. Not stop sitting around and do something!/' he growled.

Vincent stared off towards the other wall across the walk way as he thought over Chaos's words. 'So...it was you who brought us here? I should have known.' He shakes his head with a sigh. 'Just tell me this; why did you make a promise to look after Namine without telling me?'

For a few moments, Chaos was quiet. He then replied softly. '/ She is the dark angel. What other reason should there be?/ '

'Dark angel?'

'/She is a being of darkness, born from the heart of royalty that was once in this world..but she has a slight pure light that attracts my gaze. Her aura feels like home./'

Vincent looks up to the clear blue sky with a thoughtful glance. The sky in this world looked similar to his home world but with a minor difference of being able to see fewer stars through the sun setting sky. 'Home..I don't suppose you could take us back?'

'/.../'

"Hmph..now you stay quiet." Sneaky bastard. He closes his eyes for a few moments before looking back up. "I guess I can make things work."

For a few hours, Vincent remained where he was and leaned against the wall as he enjoyed the peace and quiet he had. When the sun finally set, a few street lights turned on as the sound of a portal appeared by Merlin's home. Vincent turned towards the wizard's home when the image of Namine appeared. She faced the door and paused with her hand in the air.

Her blond locks shifted to the side as she murmured to herself in a voice volume that was too low for him to hear. She then turned away from the house and walked towards the market place. He narrows his eyes as he noticed a troubled look about her and had a frown over her fair features. Normally, he wouldn't care but as Namine walked away, he could hear the snarling of Chaos, urging him to follow her. Letting out a sigh, he stands up and jumps off the ledge and follows towards the direction Namine went.

As he made his way there he saw that she took a seat on the ground by a moogle who gave her a friendly wave as he made a small light for her to use so she could see. He saw her wave back with a faint smile as she took out a sketch pad and a pencil. Vincent tilts his head as he looked at her from afar. From where he stood, he could see a young female blond in a white dress who sat on her knees with a sketch book in her hands.

But as he looked at her from an angle, he could see what Chaos did with her mixed aura of swirlled black and small tinges of bright white lights. The more he stared at the lights around her, the more he was thinking about reconsidering what he told her earlier that evening. He quickly shakes his head. Chaos was starting to take control of his thinking process and that was one thing he didn't want to happen. Bad things would happen if he allowed Chaos to take over. Though the least he could do was talk to her and see if she was alright. He walks a little closer to Namine and kneels beside her.

"Are you alright, Namine?"

The memory witch jumps in her seat as she quickly drops her pencil as she places a hand on her chest while looking towards Vincent. "Oh my goodness! You startled me..." she breathed.

His lips twitch into a small smile. Though scaring her was not his intention, he did find it mildly amusing to see her reaction. "Sorry about that."

She takes a few deep breathes before shaking her head. "It's alright. I'm okay. I guess I got a bit lost in my art that I didn't notice you there." she says as she notices that her sketch pad was still open. Not wanting him to see what she was working on, she closes her sketch pad and sets it to the side. "How long were you sitting there?"

He shakes his head. "Not long. How did things go with you and Lulu?"

"Well, she helped me with some of my elemental magic and how to balance my abilities. She also gave me something to use in case I need to fight without magic and because she worried that I didn't have a protector. She was uh..surprised that I was going to be traveling alone."

He nods as he takes a seat beside her. He could understand how being worried about a young female traveling alone. Besides the obvious reasons, her dark pursuers didn't make matters any different and the gentlemen in him was bound to look up a pride issue. "Namine..about earlier.."

Namine turns her attention towards him as she tilts her head up, curious about what he was going to say." Hmn?"

Vincent shakes his head as he can't believe he was actually going to say something he would never be able to take back. "..I didn't mean to push you away so quickly. If you want, I can protect you when you do your training."

Namine's eyes go wide with excitement. "Really?! You don't mind?"

He smiles at her, shaking his head. Seeing her smile for once made him feel less guilty about declining her earlier that day. Not only that, but it looked better on her than that depressing look she had earlier. "No, I don't mind."

Her smile widens as she gave him a quick embrace before pulling back. "Thank you so much! I promise not to bother you too much when I'm training. I'll be starting tomorrow since I'm really tired today."

Vincent leans against the wall behind him. "That is fine with me. So, do you want to head back? It is getting rather late."

She gives him a thoughtful look before nodding. "Yeah. I should head back before it gets too much later. At least in Merlin's home there is a magical ward that protects from any Heartless from going near it."

Both of them get up as she walks beside Vincent and heads into Merlin's home for the evening.

OoO

As the two figures disappear into the other side of town, a shadowed hound stared off towards them with glowing red eyes. It gives off a hissing growl while leaning over the roof top it was on. When it sees that the two were in a protected part of the town, it sleeks back into the shadows and waits paiently for it's chance to strike in the name of it's mistress. Soon, it would be time for him and his bretherin to follow through with their orders to hunt the young witchling. It was only a mater of time before she was alone and in an insecure section of the town. When that time came, she would rue the day that she met his mistress.


	4. Chapter 4

Within the dark corridors of the Underworld, Maleficent stood within the throne room where the lord of the realm sat on his throne. She casts Hades a curious glance as she looked at the small chest board he had on one of his tables. There, she saw small figures of various heroes that passed by the realm as well as various Heartless and Titians that were used to fight against them. She then looks back to Hades with a soft laugh.

"You have quite an impressive board here, Hades. Must I am afraid your board is not up to date. Another pawn has been placed on the board." With a wave of her hand, a small figure of Namine appears in her hand before she places it on an empty part of the board.

Hades pushes himself off of his throne and taps his chin with a thoughtful glance. "What's this kid's story?"

"She is one of my new targets. A young witchling with minor abilities of both light and darkness. But she has the potential to be more than that. She just needs...the proper push out the door." she says with a cruel grin. "I've placed a geas hex on the girl to motivate her to improve her magic. If she fails to do so, I know that the Heartless that are not under my command will attack her. But I fear that will not be enough for her to practice magic."

"Ah..so ya' need a guard god for her, do ya'? I've got the perfect thing for something like this." He nudges her a little with his elbow. "Get a load of this.." Hades uses his dark magic to create several packs of Heartless Hell hounds that mimicked the appearance of his guard dog, Cerberus. The hounds growl with their red eyes glowing as they stared up at their master. He crosses his arms over his chest with a proud look about him. "So..whatcha think?"

Maleficent walks up to the growling hounds with no fear and waves a hand with dark energy. Within seconds, the dark energy forms into NeoShadows who become riders over the Hell hounds. When the two make contact, the hounds are then turned into shadows and are given a more skeletal frame. The elder witch smirks at her work. "I believe that would do." She turns her attention to the Shadow Hounds. "Listen up. There is a girl I want you all to track. Keep a close eye on her and when she is alone from the others, strike at will. Give her a reminder that there are those that watch her from the shadows."

The hounds all howl in unison before disappearing into darkness. Maleficent then turns to see Hades place three Shadow Hound pieces around Namine.

"Looks like there is going to be a good fight coming. Care to make a bet?"

She arches a brow at him. "Oh? You wish to make a wager on who will be victorious in the battle here? Very well. I am normally not a gambling woman but I think this would be a beneficial gamble of sorts."

Maleficent looks at the pieces with a glance. Though she knew her Heartless were powerful and the girl alone would not be able to defeat them, she was aware that the girl was being accompanied by another. Thanks to her crow, Diablo, she had more information than Hades for the bet. But that was one thing that she didn't need to tell him.

"What shall we wager on?" she asks with a smirk.

Hades mutters to himself about what they could wager. "Hmn..what would be a good price? Heartless maybe? No, no. That's too simple. Oh yes I've got it!" He places his hand out to Maleficent as an offering to their bet. "Whomever wins the bet will have the pride of knowing that they are better than the other and the winner gets to control the other's Heartless for a day. The looser loses their control of the Heartless for that duration. Take it or leave it."

She tilts her head at him with a slightly narrowed gaze. If either of them were to lose the power of the Heartless for a day then the darkness would hound the other for control of their mind while the other would have double the power they were used to having as a result of the bet. A cruel smirk plays over her lips as she accepts his bet. "Very well Hades. I accept the terms. Now..whom will you wager for?" she asks as she returns her attention to the board.

Hades picks up one of the Shadow Hound pieces with a cruel smirk. "These bad boys are no puppies. My money is on these boys. That leaves you with the little girl." He laughs a bit as he places the piece back on the board. "I hope you are prepared to lose, Fifi."

Maleficent glared at Hades as she started to gather power from her scepter with a wave of dark green and black magic. "/What/ did I tell you about calling me by that pathetic pet name, Hades?" she snarled. "Say that again and I will follow through with my threat and turn you into an undead toad."

The lord of the Underworld raised his hands up in the air as he took a step back. "Whoa, whoa..no need for death threats. I'm cool, warning taken Fi- " he stops himself to fake cough and correct the name he called the witch before him. ", Maleficent. "

She gave him one last glare as she turned on her heels and made a dark portal back to her castle. As she leaves the room Hades blows out a whistle.

"That woman is one tough cookie. Then again, having a decent wager is hard to come by these days. What do you think boys?" he asks as his minions Pain and Panic appear from behind the throne.

Pain waddles towards his master, having his pink tail follow behind him. "I think you made a good bet, boss. No one can bet your hounds, right?"

Panic skitters beside the other small demon with a repeated nod with his green tail flailing behind him. "Yes yes! That's right! Hounds from the Underworld are nearly impossible to defeat, especially when they are attracted to a foe who carries darkness powers."

Hades taps his lips thoughtfully. "Nearly impossible to defeat. So you are saying that the little witch can make me loose the bet?"

Pain shakes his head. "N-not really, oh dreadful one. Only if she can get past their defenses."

Panic nods in agreement. "If..if is good."

Hades nods as well. "Hmn..Things do look good but I want to make sure we have an ace in the hole when the big show down happens. Pain, Panic, I want you two to keep tabs on this for me. You know the deal between myself and Maleficent. Let me know the moment you find a weak spot for the little witch."

Both Pain and Panic salute their master. "Consider it done, oh great and cruel one." They both then take the form that they normally do of two young school boys but in blue and white school uniforms with a colored head band around their heads to discern their main demon form color. Pain makes a dark portal and goes off to Radiant Garden with Panic trailing after him to perform their master's wish.

OoO

As Maleficent went through her dark portal, she stormed through the hall passage before her. "The nerve! That fool is lucky he is still standing after that insult." she muttered to herself.

She walks towards the ledge that looked out towards the town ahead of Radiant Garden. Above her she could see her crow Diablo scouting the area as the sun was setting. Upon seeing his master return back to the keep, he flies back towards her and rests on the ledge in front of her. She softly pets her familiar with a sigh.

"We have a new game in play, my pet. It would seem that we will have to doubly ensure that we win. I refuse to lose my power for a day. You understand, don't you my darling?"

Diablo nuzzles his head against his mistress's hand as if to confirm his understanding. If only her faithful servant had more stamina to be about in the shadows to be her eyes and ears. But since she knew he was scouting for her all evening, she would not ask anything further that evening from him. It was then that she thought of a perfect idea. She goes towards the shadows of her castle and uses her magic to create a Shadowed Fiend Heartless. He had the physical features of a NeoShadow but with the exception of his shorter figure and red glowing eyes. She gains control of him within a matter of seconds before he kneeled before her.

"You must go into town and scout the area for a little white witch and the warrior that is with her. But wait until they are away from town. Avoid having other members of the town to interfere. Now go. You have your task."

He gives her a low bow with a hiss before he disappears into the shadows. The shadowed figure slips through the shadows of other buildings and rock figures until he gets into town. The creature looks up towards the roofs. Scouting for his target would be best done at a high point. He uses the shadows of various boxes and smaller buildings to get on top of the roof. A soft growl escapes him as he sees his target. Sitting side by side was the witch and the warrior whom his master spoke of. But not that far off was a moogle who was using magic to create light for the young girl.

He hisses at the sight of the light and creeps further down into the shadows, feeling blinded by the bright magic. The shadow shakes his head and slowly creeps up again only to see the two targets heading towards a secure part of town. Once again, he slips back into the shadows and follows them through other shadows, waiting for the right time to strike in the name of his mistress.


End file.
